The book Religiosity and consumption in the contemporary Japanese society explores dilemmas regarding the effects of consumer culture on the secularization of religion. In Western European societies it has been believed that consumer culture usurped the place and functions of religion in society and was therefore one of the causes for its decay (Bell 1976; Williams 1991). However, in Japanese society religious and cultural practices do not exclude each other as orthogonal alternatives, instead, they have throughout history been tightly intertwined in some kind of symbiotic coexistence. Based on Weber's assumptions about polytheistic “religious everyday”, according to the source typical for developed (post) modern societies, I argue that exactly this symbiosis, together with a wide variety of religious practices present in the Japanese “religion marketplace” led to the present case where religion preserved its vitality in modern consumer society.
COBISS.SI-ID: 277940992
The article provides an analysis of classical Chinese logic, a term that refers to ancient discourses that were developed before the arrival of significant external influences and which flourished in China until the first unification of China, during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC). Taking as its premise that logic implies both universal and culturally conditioned elements, the author describes, analyses and evaluates the historical background of Chinese logic, the main schools of Chinese logical thought, the current state of research in this area and the crucial concepts and methods applied in classical Chinese logic. The close link between Chinese logic and the Chinese language is also stressed. The article coherently shows that in China, logical reasoning was closely connected to language, especially with respect to semantic issues, and was determined by its tight relation to ethics. However, the author also showed that this does not mean that in classical Chinese texts, which are not immediately identifiable with metaphysical and ethical discourses, there were not also forms of logical and methodological thought.
COBISS.SI-ID: 57377634
This article is grounded in the research in contemporary adaptations of the ancient Indian technique of mindfulness. It aims to raise awareness of vicarious trauma amongst disaster researchers, and suggest ways to prevent vicarious traumatisation from happening and/or reaching incapacitating levels. The article examines the potential of mindfulness practice, grounded in Buddhist discourse, as a set of contemplation tools through which optimal level of functionality can be restored or maintained. The relevance of the emphasis in mindfulness on understanding suffering, non-attachment, non-judgement, and full participation in the present moment are related to the context of disaster research. The article demonstrates the potential for increased researcher resilience through acknowledgement and understanding of impermanence, as well as skilful observation of external and internal phenomena in trauma without forming attachment to the pain and suffering. This is an innovative contribution to the area of disaster research and trauma.
COBISS.SI-ID: 58291554
advances in transportation and communication technologies and growing tourism industries. However, surprisingly little research covers the role played by travel agencies and their professional tour leaders in organizing, carrying out, and even transforming the pilgrimage as a religious practice. In this article, I examine the role of travel agencies and tour leaders as mediators between people and priests. In Slovenia, travel agencies are launching pilgrimages led by so-called “spiritual leaders”—priests who have been gaining in popularity as leaders of pilgrim groups seemingly because they are able to joke, sing, and talk to people outside confessional boxes in a “human way.” The Catholic Church and travel agencies are together able to provide pilgrimage with spiritual care in combination with leisure, thus contributing to the revitalization of religious practice in Slovenia.
COBISS.SI-ID: 57940322
The article aims to introduce Asian ideational and spiritual systems through the lens of comparative religious studies or through a critique of the dominant theological approaches from the Western tradition. The author takes issue with Quale’s radical constructivist construal of religion. The article proceeds in two steps. First, the purported distinction between cognition and non-cognition is questioned, suggesting that, according to certain finding in contemporary cognitive science (especially from the field of embodied and enactive approaches), the two aspects are much more closely intertwined than was originally thought. Secondly, and more importantly, it is maintained that Quale’s view of religions is explicitly theistic, lumping all alternative approaches and construals (particularly, but not exclusively, those found in East Asian religions) under the conceptually obscure heading of “mystical philosophies.” Finally, it is argued that, given that both topics play important roles in the overall argumentative chain, their unfoundedness might have serious implications for the main conclusions of the article.
COBISS.SI-ID: 59215202